


Fine you big baby!

by Mady188



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, An unhealthy amount of crossovers, F/M, Fluff, M/M, Multi, crossovers, small angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-23
Updated: 2020-12-23
Packaged: 2021-03-15 08:08:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,204
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28560321
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mady188/pseuds/Mady188
Summary: In this AU, Tsukishima works at a coffee shop. Kuroo is a regular college student who goes to get coffee one Monday. Kuroo doesn't make the best first impression, but is enchanted by Tsukishima. Going to that coffee shop becomes an everyday thing for Kuroo and they become closer. And after a lot of begging, he ends up scoring a date.
Relationships: Kuroo Tetsurou/Tsukishima Kei
Kudos: 17





	Fine you big baby!

**Author's Note:**

> This is your trigger warning. The end of the chapter implies an eating d!sorter. Earlier on, this also includes a break in. That means we@pons. No dea+h included though. If this is triggering to you, I suggest you do not read it. Other than that, I hope you enjoy.

Tsukishima Kei hated his job. He worked as a barista at the Ki café, and he hated everything about it. He hated the social interaction and the smell of coffee. He hated that most of the people who came were idiots, and that he had to deal with them all through the day. And what he hated the most were Mondays. Every Monday it was something new. From a big fight to some middle aged women trying to “speak to his manager”. 

One Monday in particular he hated. He had to wake up extra early, he had forgotten the keys to the shop halfway there and had to drive all the way back, and once he got them and drove to work, the door was already unlocked. He groaned, and went inside. The smell of black, bitter coffee filled the shop. His nose scrunched at the horrible smell, and walked to the room to get his gloves, visor, and apron on. Once he had done so, he went behind the counter and wiped it down, waiting for the customers to start rolling in. He pulled out his phone and checked social media. His best (and only) friend, Yamaguchi Tadashi, had updated his status saying he was just now going to sleep. That’s what he gets for working the night shift at his job. That’s when he heard the bell attached to the door of the coffee shop ring. Damn it. 

A petite girl with blonde hair walked swiftly into the shop. She didn’t seem tired at all. It was literally 6 a.m. But she did seem as though she was afraid of anything. The rude, and bored aura radiating off Tsukishima seemed to be scaring her. “H-Hi! C-Could I have an iced c-caramel macchiato la-latte?” She nervously asked. “Sure,” he replied, blankly. He put the order into his device. “That will be a total of $2.50” he then said. She quickly nodded, and grabbed the exact change out of her purse. She handed it to him with a really shaky hand. He took it surprisingly gently, and kept his snarky comment to himself because he didn’t want the same thing that happened last time to happen again. 

*Flashback*

One Tuesday morning, he was grumpy as always, and treated the customers how he usually did, but what he didn’t realize was that his manager was watching. Then a middle aged woman with a small child came up to the counter. Tsukishima already knew exactly what she was like. He groaned internally, and then rubbed his eyes. ‘Oh god… not today. I’m not ready to deal with this yet,’ he thought. He put on his blank face and waited for her order. She ordered a large black coffee with light sugar and no cream. He typed that into his device, and said the total. “That will be $3.25” he said, obviously not wanting to deal with her soon-to-be crap. “No, last time I was here I got the same exact thing. It was only $2.25” she said. “No no, it says $3.25 right here,” he replied, trying not to get angry at the woman’s stupidity.

“I’m not stupid, you are just trying to scam me, and make me give you a tip. Let me speak to your manager!” She said. He glanced at the woman’s kid who had a look on their face that looked so over her crap. So was he. He looked back at the woman and said, “It says right here that it is $3.25! So, if you want your drink, I’d suggest you pay $3.25!” quite loudly. She was taken aback by the sudden raise in his tone. Her kid looked so upset and scared at the sudden outburst. He didn’t feel one bit sorry for the woman, but felt bad for the kid. Once his manager came out to talk to both Tsukishima and the woman, he sighed. When the woman started talking to his manager in an angry voice, he grabbed a fresh cookie, and handed it to the kid. He was surprisingly good with kids. The kid smiled and took a bite out of it, and Tsukishima smiled in response. 

When the woman and her kid had left, his manager didn’t look pleased with him. Well who would, he yelled at a middle aged woman who altered the story about what happened a bit. Okay a lot. Since his manager had been watching, he didn’t believe what she had said because he saw it for himself. “Tsukishima Kei. My office. Now!” He said, obviously not happy. He stormed off to his office with Tsukishima not far behind him. Once he got to his manager’s office, he closed the door behind him, and leaned against it. That was normal, so his manager didn’t comment on it. After a long discussion of why he did that, he went on to finish his shift that wasn’t even close to over.

*End of Flashback*

“What would be the name for this order?” He asked. He put the money in the register, and looked up at the girl. “Y-Yachi,” she said. He grabbed a cup and a marker. “May I ask how you spell that?” He asked, knowing exactly how to spell it but not wanting to sound rude. “Y-A-C-H-I,” spelled out. He wrote that on the cup. He went to go make it, and she stood by the counter. Once he was finished, he put on the lid and put in a straw and gave it to her. “T-Thank you, bye!” She said, louder than she intended. “Yeah, bye.” he answered, not wanting to sound rude. He sighed in relief seeing no one around to order something. Then he heard the bell on the door ring. Great. Coming in, he saw a tall guy with black hair covering one of his eyes. To Tsukishima, he looked super annoying. This was going to be a long day.

—

The boy with the black hair covering one of his eyes walked up to the counter with a smile on his face. Tsukishima groaned mentally and said, “Hello, welcome to the Ki café. What do- er What would you like?”. The boy peered at the menu, scratching his chin. “What do you think I should get?" the boy asked. Tsukishima raised his eyebrow. No one has ever asked him that, and he didn't actually like coffee. “I don't drink coffee," he replied harshly. The boy smirked. “Seems so me like you are the dont-give-a-crap type, I like that” he said. 

This confused Tsukishima. He knew the boy was correct, but what did he mean he likes that? The boy laughed. “You're a funny one” he said, in the middle of chuckling. The boy put his hand out for Tsukishima to shake. “Kuroo Tetsurou, and you are… “ the boy introduced, expecting a serious reply. “Not interested," Tsukishima replied. This put Kuroo into another laughing fit. ‘Bed head and a hyena laugh… Great’ Tsukishima thought, slightly more irritated than before. “Alright fine, take my order… Kei,” Kuroo said, squinting at the name tag that was on Tsukishima’s button up. Tsukishima sighed, and asked, “What do you want?". Kuroo’s grin faded into a serious face as he ordered. “I'll have a pure black coffee please," he ordered. “One black coffee, coming up," Tsukishima said as he put the order into the device. “Your total is $2.50,” Tsukishima said. Kuroo pulled out his wallet and asked for a pen. 

Tsukishima was once again confused, but ended up giving him a pen. Kuroo wrote something on a small ripped piece of paper, and then pulled out four one dollar bills. Before he gave the cash and the pen to Tsukishima, an employee came out and put the drink onto the counter. Quickly, Kuroo gave the pen and the cash to Tsukishima, said “Keep the change," and grabbed his drink. He left right after he grabbed the drink. As he counted three dollars he saw the piece of paper fall out from in between two bills. The paper said, "Call me” along with a phone number. Tsukishima rolled his eyes, and put the money in the register. The extra change he put into the donation bin to the local children's hospital. 

He looked at the ripped piece of paper once more before throwing it in the garbage bin. He thought he would never have to see that boy again. Key word: Thought. He served a couple more customers before his shift finally ended for the day and he could start his virtual school work. He took off his apron and visor, and left for his house after that exhausting morning. He was dreading having another shift later that evening. 

After about 5 hours of virtual learning, Tsukishima had another shift in about an hour. He took the opportunity to take a quick nap. He slept like a baby. When his alarm blared, he woke up in a worse mood then he was in before. Plus, he was still tired which really didn't make him any more happy than he already was. He sighed, and got ready for another shift. Once he got to the cafe, an employee with silver hair named Sugawara came up to him with a very confused look. “Hey Tsukishima, why was there a boy with two toned hair asking for your shifts?” he asked. Tsukishima raised an eyebrow. Two toned hair? He didn't know anyone with two toned hair. Tsukishima shrugged. “I don't know anyone with two toned hair," he replied. Why was he not being rude to Suga? Well, he enjoyed being in the company of him. Too bad they didn't have the same shifts. It was then time for Suga to leave, so he said his goodbyes, and off he went. 

Tsukishima walked to get his visor and apron before he once again started his shift. He went to the counter and disinfected it before the first person came in. He had short brown hair, and looked like he had an enormous ego. He walked up to the counter, brimming with confidence. Next to him was a boy who looked like he wanted nothing to do with the other. In that way, Tsukishima could relate. “Hello, could I have a large Guava Passion fruit coconut milk drink please?" the light haired brunette asked. “Sure," Tsukishima replied. “Okay Iwa-chan! What do you want?" the light haired brunette asked the other boy. He rolled his eyes and looked at the menu. “I'll have a small water," he quickly responded. "Okay then," Tsukishima said as he added it to his order. “Names for those?" he then asked. “Oh! Oikawa for the lovely drink and Iwa-chan for the water!" the light haired brunette said, energetically. “That will be $4.98,” he said, before the dark haired brunette walked to a table. The light haired one put down five dollars onto the counter. Tsukishima took that and put the two cents into the boy's hand. The boy then put the two cents in the donation bin to the children's hospital. That made Tsukishima's frown turn into a tiny, unnoticed smile. Then, the boy went over to his friend. Guessing he knew how to spell their names, he wrote them on the cups and gave them to his employee. 

Next to come in was a boy a bit smaller than the ones before with blue-ish hair. “Hey there, do you have any milk?" he asked. Tsukishima stood there, dumbfounded. This boy in front of him, asked for milk at a cafe. "Hello?” he said, waving his hand in front of his face, trying to get his attention. Mid-wave, Tsukishima grabbed his wrist so he stopped. It surprised the boy. “Oh uh- sorry,” the guy then said. “Do you actually want… milk?" Tsukishima asked the boy. “Yes, yes I do," he replied. Tsukishima sighed. Over his whole time he had been at his job, he had never had anyone want just milk. “Okay, what kind?" he then asked, wanting this to be over as soon as possible. The boy thought for a moment. "Could I have a small whole milk?” he then answered. Tsukishima hesitated for a bit. He hated whole milk so much. He sighed again, and put it into the register. 

After the boy told the name he wanted on the cup, which was K-A-G-E-Y-A-M-A, he paid the low price of $1.00. He went to a seat and sat down. After his co-worker brought out the cup with the whole milk, he called for Kageyama. He came to get his milk right away, and went back to his seat. Since no one else was in line, Tsukishima grabbed a book to read. If he cared more about the customers, he probably would have realized Kageyama aggressively sipping his milk while having what seemed to be a stare down with Oikawa. 

The bells on the doors of the café jingled, but he didn't look up. A bed headed boy named Kuroo walked into the cafe for the second time that day, and grinned once he saw Tsukishima reading a book behind the counter. He walked over to the counter and used his index finger to pull down the book so Tsukishima would be aware he was there. Once Tsukishima realized that Kuroo was in front of him, he sighed. “Why are you back here?" he asked. “For you," he replied. 

“Uh… am I interrupting something?” Tsukishima’s new coworker, Lev Haiba, asked. Tsukishima got fed up sometimes with his lack of experience. “No, not at all. You need something?” Tsukishima replied, ignoring Kuroo fully. “Yeah I do,” Lev answered. Kuroo watched as Tsukishima helped his coworker and seemed… nice. That was new. He’d never seen Tsukishima that way before. (Well, he had only met him earlier that day) He analyzed the looks on their faces. His coworker seemed to understand after the blond explained it to him. Lev’s face lit up as he then understood the problem he’d made. 

Lev went back to work. Tsukishima faced Kuroo again, and before Kuroo could say anything a small boy about the age of four ran up to Tsukishima crying. Tsukishima kneeled down to the child’s level and asked, “Hey, are you okay? Where is your mother?”. The young child pointed to the bathroom, still crying. Knowing he couldn’t go into the women’s bathroom, he decided to deal with it himself. “What’s the matter?” Tsukishima asked, stroking the child’s hair in an attempt to calm him down. The child pointed out the large wide windows, and said, “Bad man!”.

Tsukishima was confused, but then heard glass shatter. His heart dropped. He looked up to see someone in a black ski mask had shot the window. People were now scared and ran up to the counter, pleading for help and asking what to do. The leader in Tsukishima came out and knew he had to get his coworkers and customers to safety. Lev came into the main part of the cafe to see what had happened. “Everyone stay calm! Lev will take you to the basement!” Tsukishima said. Tsukishima picked up the little boy and gave him to Kuroo. Lev took the hint and started to lead the small group of people to the basement. Kuroo didn’t move. “What are you waiting for? Go,” Tsukishima insisted. “What about you? And this little boy’s mother?” Kuroo asked. Tsukishima knew he could deal with the intruder, but had to get the people out of the bathrooms. 

He ran as fast as he could to the bathrooms and told everyone to leave as quickly as possible. People started to file out quickly and joined the group. The boy’s mother came to the boy and took him from Kuroo. She bowed and went with everyone to the basement. Kuroo stood there, but Tsukishima thought he had left. The intruder was now inside the building and smirking. Tsukishima took off his apron and visor, his eyes not leaving the intruder. From the pocket in his black skinny jeans, he pulled out a pocket knife. The intruder lifted his gun, pointing it at Tsukishima. He didn’t hesitate to try and eliminate Tsukishima. The intruder shot the gun, but lucky Tsukishima dodged it. The wall in the back was damaged. 

Kuroo was stunned, so he couldn’t move to help. Tsukishima ran towards the intruder with a plan in his mind. First, he took the intruder's shoulders and kneed him in the gut. The intruder flinched from the unexpected attack and that left him with a blind spot. Tsukishima took the chance and twisted the intruder’s wrist so he would drop the gun. Before he got the intruder to successfully drop it, the intruder pulled the trigger, shooting Tsukishima’s shoulder. It hurt, but he had to get the intruder on the ground. The blood from his shoulder wound dripped onto the floor while Tsukishima got the guy to the ground.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw red and blue flashing lights. The police were there. They rushed in with guns and were surprised to see the intruder on the ground. They came over to Tsukishima, who seemed to be in no pain whatsoever. One officer came to get the intruder who was no longer struggling to get free. The other came to Tsukishima to ask if he was alright. Of course Tsukishima was in pain, but he wasn’t going to say that. “I’m alright, thank you officer,” Tsukishima answered. “You’re welcome, see you two around,” the officer replied before leaving with the other officer. “You two?” Tsukishima asked himself while looking around the cafe he thought was empty. His eyes landed on a wide-eyed Kuroo. He clutched his shoulder and walked over to Kuroo. “I thought I told you to go into the basement with the others!” exclaimed Tsukishima. “I know, but I wanted to make sure you were alright!” Kuroo exclaimed back. Tsukishima rolled his eyes. He couldn’t believe the man in front of him.

Tsukishima ran to the basement to make sure everyone was alright while Kuroo looked for a first-aid kit. Kuroo was studying to become a doctor. Once he found the first-aid kit, he then searched for the basement to wrap up Tsukishima’s wound.

Kuroo heard talking and the name “Tsukishima”, so he tried to find where it was coming from. He could tell he was getting closer, and soon found a staircase. He went down to the basement and saw many employees and customers talking. He looked over to see Tsukishima surrounded by kids. Some of the kids were crying and hugging him, and some were pointing to his wound. Tsukishima looked to be laughing and enjoying being around the kids. Kuroo smiled to himself when he saw that. Tsukishima seemed to really like kids, way more than he liked Kuroo. Kuroo definitely knew this, but he wanted to change that.

Kuroo walked over to Tsukishima with the first-aid kit, and sat down near him. He noticed Tsukishima’s sleeve was now red from him not caring about his wound. ‘He’s so reckless’ Kuroo thought as he opened the first-aid kit. Tsukishima looked confused as Kuroo took out a lot of things. “Do you actually know what you’re doing?” Tsukishima asked. Kuroo looked up and responded with, “Going to college to be a doctor, so I don't know you tell me,” Tsukishima rolled his eyes and rolled up his long sleeved shirt so the gun wound would be able to be treated. It was worse than Kuroo had expected. First, he had to clean the wound. There were a bunch of sources to use for that step. He quickly and quietly did that while the wide-eyed kids watched with curiosity. 

The next step was to check if the wound was infected. Usually it wouldn’t be based on the small amount of time it had been open, but there is always a chance. Fortunately, there was no infection in the still-opened wound. He picked up a box of patches and a roll of gauze and started to wrap up the gunshot wound. Tsukishima didn’t seem to be phased by any of it. That made it a lot easier for Kuroo. After he wrapped Tsukishima’s shoulder in the gauze, he asked if anyone had a pair of scissors. Luckily, someone from the way back of the now seated crowd stood up and walked over with a pair of deep green scissors. Kuroo thanked the customer and cut the gauze. He handed the customer the scissors and finished wrapping up Tsukishima’s wound. “And I’m finished. You’re welcome,” Kuroo said, standing up.

Tsukishima rolled his eyes and said a faint ‘Thanks’. Kuroo smirked and said, “What was that? I didn’t hear you,” Tsukishima knew he had heard him. “Thanks,” he said louder, so only he and Kuroo could hear him. “Hm? A bit louder please,” Kuroo said,putting his hand around his ear to signify that he hadn’t heard him once more. “I SAID THANK YOU!” Tsukishima yelled. Everyone stared at him. He hated being the center of attention. “Woah, calm down. I’m just pushing your buttons,” Kuroo said, still having that stupid smirk on his face. A small boy named Kamitani Taka marched over to Kuroo and started hitting Kuroo’s shoe. Tsukishima knew that this was normal for him. He also knew that his older brother, Kamitani Hayato, was going to come over and hit him on the head. Hayato was one of Tsukishima’s co-workers. He was probably the only one who Tsukishima would actually talk to when he had time.

“AHO GUY AHO!” Taka exclaimed, still hitting Kuroo’s shoe. Kuroo stood there with a confused face, wondering what this toddler was doing. What Tsukishima predicted was indeed correct. Hayato started walking over to Taka and punched him square on the head. Taka didn’t seem happy about that. His eyes filled with tears and he asked, “WHY ARE YOU ALWAYS SO MEAN TO ME?!” Then, a guy with light, caramel brown hair walked over to Hayato and Taka. He also worked at the cafe, and grew up with Hayato. His name was Kashima Ryuichi. He was kind, especially to Hayato. Tsukishima wouldn’t consider Ryuichi and himself friends, but they talked every so often. “What’s going on here?” Ryuichi asked. Taka looked up at Ryuichi with teary eyes, and said, “Nii-chan hit me again!” 

Ryuichi looked over at Hayato who didn’t give a crap. Ryuichi had told Hayato many times not to hit his brother, but that didn’t stop him from doing so. Ryuichi really loved kids, that’s why he was assigned the job of cafe babysitter. Or, at least one of them. He watches the children or little siblings of the employees who work there and have no one else to watch them. Hayato was also one of the babysitters. Ryuichi crouched down to Taka’s level and asked why Hayato had hit him. In response, Taka said, “Because I called the guy who made Tsukki mad ‘Aho’”. Ryuichi sighed and looked at Taka once more. “Do you think you could apologize to both Kamitani and whoever made Tsukishima mad?” Ryuichi asked. “....fine….” Taka replied. He walked over to Kuroo, who stood in the same position still confused, and said, “I’m sorry for saying what I did, but I won’t forgive you for making Tsukki mad,” .

Tsukishima smiled. He appreciated that Taka didn’t like it when people made him any other emotion than happy. Ryuichi stood up and also smiled. Ryuichi really had a way for kids. “Apologize to Tsukki!” Taka said to Kuroo. Most people heard Taka, but no one really cared. Ryuichi started talking to Hayato, and the customers started talking too, as if forgetting what just happened. Kuroo laughed and nodded at Taka. He walked over to Tsukishima, Taka watching closely to make sure he would actually do it. “Sorry for pushing your buttons….Tsukki,” Kuroo said. 

Every one of Tsukishima’s co-workers stared at Kuroo. If you knew Tsukishima, you knew very well that the only people allowed to call him Tsukki are Yamaguchi Tadashi, and the kids in the babysitting center. “That's not going to end well for him," Kamitani thought. “It’s fine,” Tsukishima answered, making everyone astonished. For the rest of the day, no one mentioned anything. While he and Kamitani were left cleaning up the shop, Kamitani brought it up. “Hey dude, how come you let him call you Tsukki?” Kamitani asked. Tsukishima looked at Kamitani and shrugged. “I don’t really know. I guess I didn’t care,” he answered. Kamitani sighed. What did he expect? I’m hopelessly in love with him, even though we just met earlier that day? No he didn’t. He knew Tsukishima wasn’t in love with anyone, and surely he wasn’t like princess Anna of Arendelle. Right?

—

Tsukishima walked into the cafe to see workers fixing the broken window. He was called into the cafe extra early that morning to “discuss important matters” with his boss. Tsukishima did all he could to help with the situation and thought he did a fine job, he knew however, that the manager would have something to yell at him about. He dragged himself to the manager’s office. Once he got to the door, he hesitated. He really didn’t want to go in. Despite not wanting to, he knocked on the door exactly three times to let his boss know it was him. 

Tsukishima heard shuffling and creaking floorboards. The door opened slowly. Tsukishima’s eyes met his boss’s eyes. “Come in Tsukishima,” the manager,  
Kyoya Ootori, said impatiently. Tsukishima walked in and sat down on a chair in front of the manager’s desk. His boss was known to care deeply about the customers and the babies in the babysitters area. He did care about his employees, but didn’t show it. Actually, he didn’t show any emotion besides rage. He cared dearly for everyone at the cafe, but couldn’t show it mostly because of stress. He wanted to prove to his father that he was worthy. No one knew this except one of his dearest friends, Tamaki Suoh. 

As Kyoya sat down, Tsukishima started to overthink about what he did wrong. While overthinking, he started playing with his fingers. It was a habit he had received as the result of nervousness and/or worry. Kyoya noticed this and put a hand on Tsukishima’s shoulder. “I didn’t call you in here because I was mad at you. Actually, it’s quite the opposite. I wanted to thank you, and also apologize for you having to deal with all of those women that can’t let you catch a break,” Kyoya said. Tsukishima’s eyes widened. He had never in a million year would have expected his boss to say that. He stopped playing with his fingers and sat on his hands so he wouldn’t pick at his cuticles. He already had a bandage on two of his fingers from that.

Tsukishima let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. He was glad someone understood. Tsukishima smiled. Kyoya took his hand off of Tsukishima’s shoulder and put it in his lap. They sat there in an awkward silence for a bit before Kyoya stood up. “That’s all I wanted to say. I’ll talk to you later,” he said. Tsukishima took this as a sign to leave. Tsukishima nodded and headed out of there. He checked his watch and to his dismay, it was time to start his shift. He put on his apron and visor and went out into the main part of the cafe. He went into the section behind the counter where he worked, and looked around. He didn’t see anyone, so he grabbed his book and started reading. He read for a bit until he heard the bells on the main entrance jingle, signifying that someone had arrived. 

He looked up to see his best friend, Yamaguchi Tadashi, rushing towards him. Tsukishima noticed he had a flushed face. He opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted. “Tsukki, I have something to confess!” Yamaguchi exclaimed. Tsukishima hadn’t talked to him in person in a while, so he assumed it was urgent. “I have a girlfriend!” Yamaguchi exclaimed, covering his face with his hands. He couldn’t see Tsukishima’s face, so he slowly uncovered his face to find out how he felt about that. Yamaguchi was shocked to see Tsukishima didn’t have any reaction. “Tadashi, I know you have a girlfriend. Yachi Hitoka, right?” Tsukishima asked. Yamaguchi stood there, utterly confused. He had never told Tsukishima that he had a girlfriend, right? Well how could he have known exactly who his girlfriend was?!

Tsukishima could see that Yamaguchi was both shocked and confused, so he said one thing. “Terushima,” he said. Yamaguchi nodded slowly, processing what he had just said. Then, his eyes widened. “When did he tell you?!” Yamaguchi said loudly, but not loud enough for it to be considered a yell. “Just last night,” Tsukishima told him.

*Flashback* 

Tsukishima got home after that long day of work and decided to take a shower. He went into the bathroom and stripped his clothes off. He turned the water hot, like scalding hot. That’s how he liked it. He stepped in, and was left alone with his thoughts. Many people he knew had really weird thoughts while in the shower, but he didn’t. While in the shower, he reflected on how the day has been. It had been a wild one that was for sure. He thought about how much it actually hurt to get shot, and how Kuroo had helped him. He thought of how proud he was when the intruder had been arrested, and he also thought of how Kuroo just stood there, watching it all. Kuroo. Most of his thoughts about that day were focused on that bed headed boy, Kuroo. He didn’t know why, but he didn’t like it. He was very appreciative of the guy, sure, but that doesn’t mean he wants to think about him all the time. 

After he washed his hair and body, he got out of the shower. He dried himself off with a towel and wrapped off the bottom half of him with it before walking to his room to get on his clothes. Once he put them on, he put the towel into his wash machine. He felt nice after getting out of the shower, so he went into the living room of his apartment, and plopped himself on his sofa. His phone was charging beside the sofa, so he checked Instagram. While scrolling on his main page, an unknown number texted him. He tapped the notification and started conversing with the unknown texter. 

Unknown: Yo Tsukishima! 

You: Who is this, and how do you know my name?

Unknown: Oh that’s right! I’m Terushima. One of Yamaguchi’s friends. 

You: How the hell do you know my number?

Unknown: Yamaguchi.

You: Should have guessed.

Unknown: Speaking of Yamaguchi, did you know he has a girlfriend?! Cool right? She’s really cute and her name is Yachi Hitoka!

You: Wait, what? Tadashi got a girlfriend? When did this occur?

Unknown: Like a week ago? 

You: Wow.  
Read 8:56pm

*End of flashback*

Him and Tadashi talked for a while, before Tadashi had to go. Tsukishima could tell it was going to be a slow day, so he decided to check up on the babysitting club. There was a door at the back of the cafe, so Tsukishima’s co-workers usually go in through there instead of the main entrance where Tsukishima goes in. Tsukishima headed into a hallway. At the end of the hallway, he heard the toddlers of the babysitting club. Tsukishima slid open the door to the babysitters club room. The toddlers were playing with each other, and both Ryuichi and Kamitani were talking to a boy with orange hair. Tsukishima was confused. He didn’t have a co-worker with orange hair. “Who is this Ryu?” Tsukishima asked. The boy turned around and his eyes met Tsukishima’s. The boy had a warm smile on his face, and definitely had never been there before.

“Oh! This is Kashiwagi Sora! He is a new member of the babysitters club!” Ryuichi said. The boy put his hand out for Tsukishima to shake. Tsukishima shook the boy's hand, which was a bit smaller than his. Tsukishima felt something pull on his pant leg. He turned to see a small infant. The infant had black hair and a mummy shirt on. Kashiwagi picked the infant up and said, “That’s right, you haven’t met him yet either. This is Mii-kun,”. Mii looked like a happy little baby. Tsukishima smiled, but then heard little Taka yell his name. “TSUKKI, YOU’RE HERE! YOU NEVER COME IN HERE!” Taka exclaimed. Tsukishima turned to see Taka running his way. All of the little kids in here made him smile. He picked up Taka mid-run. Taka hugged him tight with Kirin and Kotaro running to him. He crouched down to face Kirin and Kotaro. Kirin and Tsukishima performed their significant handshake while Taka and Kotaro observed. 

After the handshake was completed, Taka wanted to make one too, but Tsukishima heard the bell at the counter ring. “I’m sorry Taka, I have to go. We can do it later,” Tsukishima told him, setting him down. Tears formed in Taka’s eyes. “YOU JUST CAME! WHY DO YOU HAVE TO LEAVE SO SOON?!” he complained. Ryuichi, Kashiwagi, and Kamitani walked over to Taka. “Tsukishima has to work. He’ll come back later, okay?” Ryuichi says before Kamitani then hit Taka on the head. The tears came pouring out of Taka’s eyes as he ran behind Kashiwagi. “I’ll see you guys later,” Tsukishima said, waving goodbye. All the toddlers waved back. “Bye Tsukki!” they all exclaimed in sync. Tsukishima walked out with a smile on his face. Now, he had to serve the customers that were waiting at the counter.

When he got there, he saw two people. A tall boy with blue hair and a really short girl with brown hair. Something about her sent shivers up Tsukishima’s spine. “Sorry for the delay, what can I get for you today?” Tsukishima asked. The boy looked at the menu and decided on something. “Could I have a small mint chocolate chip Frappuccino?” he asked. Tsukishima nodded and looked at the girl. She looked like she was having trouble seeing the menu. The boy picked her up, and held her up, so she could see the menu easier.

After she looked like she decided on what she wanted, the boy set her back down. “I’ll have a small mango black tea and a pink cake pop,” she said. Her voice kind of shocked Tsukishima because he thought she was a kid. She was actually around his age. Without showing he was shocked, he put the order into the register. “Your total will be $9.12,” Tsukishima stated. Both the girl and the boy took out their wallets. At the same time they took out the total. The girl noticed the boy was paying too, so she said loudly, “Hey, what are you doing?!”

The boy ignored her and paid first. Then, he turned to her and said, “I’m paying,” The girl stood there with an angry expression on her face. “What will the names be for those?” Tsukishima asked. The boy looked back at Tsukishima and smiled. “Ryuji Takasu and Taiga Aisaka,” he said. Tsukishima nodded. The girl and the boy sat down and Tsukishima sent the order from the register to the drink maker. He sat for a bit before the drink maker came out with the drinks and a wrapped, pink cake pop.

“Ryuji Takasu and Taiga Aisaka, please come get your order,” Tsukishima called out. They both came to the counter and took their order. Ryuji said ‘thank you’ and left with Taiga. Tsukishima saw no one else, so he decided he should go back to the club room. He walked down the hallway and slid open the door to the babysitting room. Taka’s head snapped towards the door. Taka smiled and raced toward Tsukishima. “TSUKKI!” Taka exclaimed. Tsukishima picked him up and all heads looked at him. “Perfect timing Tsukishima. Me, Kashiwagi, and Kamitani need to start our shifts. Could you watch them until Saikawa gets here?” Ryuichi asked. Tsukishima smiled. “Of course!” Tsukishima said, “Who wants me to read a story?” 

The kids were all very excited. They gathered around in a semi-circle around the reading chair. Tsukishima took Mii-kun and held him because he couldn’t just lay on the floor. Kashiwagi, Kamitani, and Ryuichi all took off, and Kotaro grabbed a book off the book shelf. Tsukishima took a seat on the reading chair, and Kotaro walked over to Tsukishima with the book. The book he had chosen was Snow White. Tsukishima smiled again and waited for Kotaro to sit down to start reading. Once Kotaro sat down, Tsukishima started to tell the tale of Snow White to the kids. The kids loved story time with Tsukishima because he showed the pictures and he read with so much expression. The kids felt like they were in the book. 

As he read, a familiar face walked in. No one noticed him walk in. They were all too sucked into the book to notice. The boy leaned on the door frame. He watched in amazement as Tsukishima told the story so wonderfully. The boy got sucked in the story too. Tsukishima proceeded to tell the story for the next ten minutes before it came to an end. The kids clapped, and so did the boy. Tsukishima looked up to see a familiar boy. The one and only, Kuroo. 

“What are you doing here?” Tsukishima asked, whisper-yelling. Him and Kuroo were in a corner of the club room, conversing about why he was there. Well, actually Tsukishima was just whisper-yelling at him. He wasn’t actually listening. He was just staring at Tsukishima nodding every so often. He got a good look at all of Tsukishima’s features. His pale, but smooth skin, his honey golden eyes, and his thin, smooth-looking lips. Tsukishima stopped talking to see if Kuroo would notice, and to tell if he was listening. Kuroo just kept nodding as if Tsukishima was still talking. 

Tsukishima snapped at Kuroo to make him listen to him. Kotaro walked over right then and pulled on Tsukishima’s pant leg just like Mii-kun had done earlier. Tsukishima’s attention went straight to Kotaro. He crouched down to look at Kotaro who was crying. Tsukishima didn’t hesitate to pick him up and hug him. “What’s wrong Kotaro?” he asked. Kotaro didn’t speak, he just kept crying. Tsukishima had a feeling he knew what he was crying about. “Are you sad because Ryu left?” Tsukishima asked. He was sure that was the answer. To his surprise, Kotaro shook his head no. That was the only reason Kotaro ever cried. 

Kotaro put his face into Tsukishima’s chest and mumbled, “Taka said black haired guy was bad. You were talking to him so I was scared,” Tsukishima’s eyes widened. “Aww, Kotaro. I’m fine. You don’t have to worry,” he said to Kotaro, rubbing his back to calm him down. Tsukishima swayed from side to side. He got Kotaro to calm down. “Do you wanna go play with the others?” Tsukishima asked him. He shook his head and clutched Tsukishima’s shirt. “No? Okay,” Tsukishima said, smiling unnoticeably. He looks back at Kuroo, who looks astonished. “What?” Tsukishima asked. “Nothing. Just never expected you to be so good with kids,” Kuroo explained. Tsukishima was confused. “What’s that supposed to mean, huh?” he asked. ‘That came out a little harsher than intended. Oh…. now I understand’ Tsukishima thought.

He was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard a baby wail. Immediately, he looked around to see who it was. It was Mii-kun. He had woken up from his nap and was probably hungry. He turned back to Kuroo again and asked, “Would you mind holding Kotaro for a second?” Kuroo nodded and put his arms out. Tsukishima very carefully put Kotaro into Kuroo’s arms. Tsukishima then went to feed baby Mii-kun.

While watching Tsukishima, Kuroo was once again enchanted. He watched Tsukishima with a smile on his face. He was knocked out of his trance by Kotaro asking something. “You like Tsukki?” Kotaro asked Kuroo. Kuroo knew that was a question, but it sure felt like a statement. “Yeah, he’s super nice. To you guys at least,” Kuroo replied. Kotaro beamed. Kuroo got super confused. Why was a toddler who was just crying, now super overexcited? “Tsukki has friend! Tsukki had a hard time making friends,” Kotaro exclaimed. 

To Kuroo, Tsukishima was the type of guy who wouldn’t choose to have friends, but if he tried he could get anyone to love him either romantically or platonically. “Why does he have a hard time making friends?” Kuroo asked. Kotaro hesitated. Tsukishima had told him not to tell anyone because Kotaro overheard what he had said to Ryuichi. “He-“ Kotaro began, but was cut off by Tsukishima. “I see you two are getting along,” Tsukishima said, holding Mii-kun. Kotaro stuck his arms out towards Tsukishima, signifying that he wanted to be held by him. Tsukishima sighed, and adjusted Mii-kun on his arms so he would be able to hold both Mii-kun and Kotaro. Once he did exactly that, he carefully took Kotaro from Kuroo and cradled them both. Ryuichi walked in the babysitting room. “My assistance wasn’t needed, so I’m going to stay in here until it is needed,” he said, sitting on the floor next to Kirin. 

Ryuichi watched as Tsukishima cradled Mii-kun and Kotaro. Next to him, he noticed a bed-headed boy. He had never seen him before. The kids seemed okay with him there, but he didn’t know why. Ryuichi then remembered that he was the guy that Taka had called an idiot a few days ago. He nodded, and stood up. He went over them. Tsukishima smiled and gave Kotaro to Ryuichi. Taka came not too long later and pulled him somewhere else in the club room. Kuroo stood there, not sure what to do. Ryuichi looked over at Kuroo and smiled. “How’d you do it?” Ryuichi asked, Kotaro getting sleepy. “How’d I do what?” Kuroo asked. Ryuichi was shocked. “How did you become that close with him?” Ryuichi asked. He could never get that close with Tsukishima even if he tried. Kuroo shrugged. “To be honest, I don’t know. I wouldn’t call us close, I just follow him and he doesn’t care,” he said. 

“Still! If I consistently followed him, he’d get annoyed and tell me to go away. What’s your secret?” Ryuichi then asked. He was eager to know. “I don’t really know,” Kuroo said. Ryuichi sighed. “Probably the same way I became friends with Hayato,” Ryuichi shrugged. Kuroo nodded. He had no clue who Hayato was, but he went with it. He was about to say something but was cut off by Kashiwagi. “Hey, is Tsukishima in here? We have a dilemma,” Kashiwagi asked. Kuroo looked around and couldn’t find him, so he turned back to Kashiwagi. “I’ll go get him,” he said, heading to an open door in the corner of the room. He slowly opened the door to see Kazuma, Takuma, Kirin, Taka, and Tsukishima sitting in a circle. They all had on tiaras. It was super cute. “Am I interrupting something?” Kuroo asked. “Yes- No you aren’t,” Tsukishima said, interrupting Kirin.

“Okay good,” Kuroo said, walking in. He went by Tsukishima, and said, “The red head came in and said that there was a dilemma that I guess you need to deal with,” Kuroo explained. Tsukishima nodded. He politely took off the crown, and placed it on Kuroo’s head. Tsukishima then gestured for him to sit down in the circle with the toddlers. Kuroo sat down in the same spot Tsukishima had. Kirin smiled, and poured him a cup of imaginary tea. Kuroo thought that was utterly adorable. Tsukishima left him to do that, and went out to the so-called “dilemma”. When he came out, he saw a fight between a man and Kamitani. Ryuichi was already trying to get Kamitani to calm down. It was working a bit, but he was still really angry. Tsukishima sighed, and walked over to the man. “Sir, why are you fighting with one of my co-workers?” Tsukishima asked. The man looked over at Tsukishima with an angry expression. 

“That little sh*t messed up my order!” the man yelled. Tsukishima looked over at Kamitani who was visibly super enraged and . . . wet? “He threw his drink at me, and he wonders why i’m angry!” Kamitani yelled. Again, Tsukishima sighed. “You’re the one who made my drink wrong, so you should have expected that I would most likely be angry. I don’t know why they don’t just fire you right here, right now,” the man said, acting as if he was in the right at the moment. Kuroo was walking out of the babysitters room, because he had just been replaced with Kashiwagi. He didn’t see anything, but had heard Tsukishima yell at the guy. 

“There are millions of reasons why he is still here! He is amazing at his job, and really good with the toddlers in the back! He does this to support his family! His mother who is a teacher doesn’t make enough income to support him, his brother, and her! He moved out with his little brother to make sure she was able to have a happy life for herself! He makes money here to support my brother and himself with her help sometimes!” Tsukishima yelled. The man turned to Tsukishima. “Who do you think you are?” the man asked. The man's voice got low. Like, really low. Tsukishima wasn’t scared because of a voice change, but Tsukishima assumed that was the effect he was going for. “I’m his friend, Tsukishima Kei, that’s who I am,” he answered. The man smirked a bit before saying something. “Y’know, you’re really thin. Maybe you should try eating more,” he said. Everyone froze.

It was silent. Tsukishima tried to keep his composure. He knew he might break down any second. He left. He stormed down the hallway leading to the babysitting rooms so fast, he bumped into Kuroo. Tsukishima said a quick “sorry” before going right into the club room. Kuroo could most definitely see tears in his eyes. Kuroo tried to comprehend what just happened. He guessed he had a clue, so he ran after Tsukishima. Kamitani, who was still behind the coffee shop counter, was infuriated. Tsukishima had finally called him a friend and defended him, and that’s what Tsukishima got in return? He couldn’t bear it. He wanted this guy to end up in a hospital bed, but Ryuichi had different plans. Ryuichi wanted to take him out with words. Kamitani jumped up onto the counter, but was stopped by Ryuichi. “Hayato!” Ryuichi exclaimed. Kamitani freezed. Ryuichi had used his… First name? That was new. 

Back with Tsukishima and Kuroo, the toddlers were worried. They’ve seen Tsukishima angry, but not sad. Kirin and Kazuma started crying too, and Taka and Takuma were questioning him. Tsukishima sat with his knees to his chest, wanting to go home. Kuroo sat down next to him, and started up a conversation. Well, he tried. Tsukishima was unresponsive. Kuroo sighed. He knew how he felt. He didn’t personally have problems with that, but he has had other problems. Kuroo knew how many people had probably told him that same thing. He had such a huge urge to comfort him, but didn’t know how to, while still making sure he knows he’s a safe person.

Kuroo softly grabs his hand and holds it. He squeezes it reassuringly. Tsukishima doesn’t look at him. His tears didn’t stop flowing, but they slowed down a whole lot. Tsukishima started mumbling. The only thing Kuroo could understand from what he was saying was “I’m trying”. This made Kuroo devastated. He couldn’t bear seeing him like this, and neither could the toddlers. Kotaro walked over, wobbling a bit. He took Tsukishima's free hand and started rubbing patterns onto his hand, something he did to calm Ryuichi. Tsukishima noticed this and smiled softly at Kotaro, completely ignoring Kuroo (though the smile faded quickly after). Kuroo didn’t mind this though. As long as he was feeling a bit better. However, Tsukishima didn’t feel better. He really was just trying to convince Kotaro that he was fine.

“Hey Tsukki, how about you come over to my place and we can do something?” Kuroo asked. Tsukishima looked at him. “Huh? Why would I go to your house?” Tsukishima responded. Tsukishima didn’t wanna go to his house because well, he hardly knew him. Duh. Kuroo expected this, so he smiled softly. “I want to help you calm down and relax, alright?” he said. Tsukishima sighed. “Fine,” he answered. Both he and Kuroo stood up. Kotaro was confused as to why they stood up, so he did too. Kuroo chuckled lightly before patting his head. Kuroo promised to cheer Tsukishima up to the best of his ability.

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first ao3 story, so if it isn’t your type of story, that’s fine. I found this gem on Wattpad (believe it or not), and I think it’s pretty okay, so here we are.


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